Lubricant sealed seat



June 4, 1935. A. K. soRENsEN I i LUBRICANT SEALED SEAT Filed Marcnrze, 1932 Patented June 4, 1935 UNITED vsTAT|.-:"s` PATENT oFFlcE `2,003,840 LUBEICANT SEALED SEAT Alfred K. Sorensen, Chicago, Ill., assigner to Crane Co., Chicago, Ill., a corporation ro1 Illinois Application March 29, 1932, Serial No. 601,815

2 claims. (ci. 137-53)` 'Ihis invention pertains to a valve device and member-5 seats in the casing I upon the seating more particularly, for purposes of illustration, Surface 6 and iS guided by means 0f the Stem 'l refers to a pressure actuated valve in which the which is flxedly connected thereto by means of seat tightness is accomplished by means of a the pin- 8. The valve closure member 5 is held .5 fiuid seal directed to the pressure side or inlet to its seat by means of the spring 9 which is 5 of the seat bearing, in which the line pressure maintained in compression by means of the itself is used to effect a tight seat. upper and lower spring Washers rI I and I2 re- Previously, numerous manually actuated valves Spectively.` Adjustability ofk the compression on as distinguished from pressure actuated valves the spring iS Obtained by IneanS f the adjusting 101 have had their 'seattightness improved by pro- Screw I3 which is located in the bonnet member 10 viding a lubricant seal at the seat bearing. In in an established setting by means of the lockthis connection, for example, it seems desirable nut I4. The amount of compression und-er which to make reference to the following patents inthe spring is placed is conveniently determined dicative of the past art-German Patent No. by means of the clearance filler member I which 152,869, dated February 24, 1903, German Patent controls the space between the underside of the 15 N0. 508,737, dated April 21, 1929, and French Shoulder I6 of the adjusting screw and the upper Patent No. 681,848, dated September 14, 1929.- side I'I of the locknut.

In these prior patents the lubricant was di- The Spring iS adjusted t0 release the diSC fOr rected mechanically by means of channels to the what is commonly termed the pop or relieving seat bearing surfaces. Pressure from the lubripressure. 'Ihe valve casing I by means of the 20 cant supply means was relied upon to affect a threads I 8v is connected to the boiler or other tight seal between the abutting seating surfaces, vesse1 (not shown) which it is desired to relieve in addition to the increased compression placed by means of the port I9. upon the seat contact itself obtained by a screw The conventional lubricant connector 2 I, which or stem to which the disc or valve closure member may either be an Alemite fitting, an oil feed, or 25 was connected. any other method of forced or directed lubrica- By this invention, however, it is apparent that tion in order to insert the lubricant through the a simple and economical method of utilizing the port 22 into the casing inlet I9 at a location pressure in the line itself is used to make a tight relatively proximate to the valve seating surface seat, and at the same time dispense with the 6, is connected to the casing I by means of the 30 more expensive and often complicated channel threads 20.

directing lubricant means of the prior art as It is apparent that it will also be possible to seal exemplified in the previously mentioned patents. the valve seat by simply inverting the valve and Reference to the drawing and the description thus permitting the sealing medium to move by follows, which will explain more clearly the obgravity to the seat bearing contact, and thus any 35 jeCtS and advantages 0f this invention. opening from the outside to the Valve inlet per- Fig. l iS a SeCtiOnal assembly View 0f a pressure mitting the insertion of the sealing medium will relief valve showing a preferred application of be satisfactory,

my invention. g In operation, let it be supposed that the valve 40 Fig. 2 is an enlarged View ShOWlng how the Seal is set for fifty pounds pressure. The spring 9 is 40 for the seat is accompllshedso adjusted that when the pressure builds up be- Fg. 3 iS a Similarly enlarged View Showing neath the seat to this extent the spring will comfn? of flle glgmzggatls psiglllrl; g2 press because of the force of the pressure upon ainlng. e i t f the valve closure member 5. Immediately the Y y hlhge aiuggrggr ci); lsgolhxgefl released fluid or gas rushes past the channeled 4 Within the met passage to ai upon iffs dtttlmpth the said lubricant which is preferably positioned .g in proximity to the seat bearing the multiple ports 26 circumventing the lsprlng Similar reference characters refer to similar Cover 2"- Just 'as S9011 as thE presSue 1n the 50 parts in the several Views; vessel or boiler 1s relieved sulclently, the valve Referring to Fig. 1, the casing I of the valve closure member under the compression of -the is connected to a bonnet 2 by means of the screw Spring 9 returns t0 IIJS Seat 6. n Thls describes threads 3 with a shoulder 4 abutting the bonnet briefly an action common to this type of valve in order to make atight joint.V The valve closure which may take place many times during the 55 course of a day or, contrarily, may occur infrequently depending upon the service to which the pressure vessel itself is subjected.

It is universally agreed that when a spring loaded valve is used on such services as air, gasoline, or other volatile liquids or gases, leakage will very likely occur regardless of how high a degree of workmanship is used to make the seat bearing contact. It has been determined conclusively that tool marks, for example, however slight, constitute imperfections on the seat suflicient to cause a leak, and even grinding or lapping the disc closure member by means ofne abrasives does not remove theseimperfections.

If the gas under pressure within the valve is of an explosive nature, such as hydrogen or oxyacetylene gas, it is quite apparent that even a slight leak would be very dangerous to life and property. In addition, such leaks are treacherous because they are usually imperceptible to the observer and probably only visibly evidenced by submerging the valve in Water, and then noting that tiny air bubbles rise tc the surface of the water. The latter method is a recognized way of testing valves intended for air service.

However, it has been found that by supplying i a sealing medium ,as previously mentioned, such as oil, grease, soap water or even water alone to the pressure side of the seat bearing and then allow the escaping fluid tov act behind the sealing medium, the leak is literallyk plugged. This is true because the escaping gas or uid forces the sealing medium to fill in the slightest imperfections of the seat bearing contact to form a leak proof seal. v l

A manually operated valve, that is, one using a threaded stem, is of course equally susceptible of the sealing means described herein.

By means of this invention,this objectionable condition is overcome by applying a lubricator gun (not shown) to the tip 28 of the lubricator fitting and giving a turn or two to the handle of the gun, thus forcing the sealing medium confined therein past the ball check valve (not shown) of the lubricator connection 2l through the port 22 and into the inlet I9 adjacent the seat G. The pressure ordinarily exerted by the gun is sufficient to project the sealing medium across the port opening I9. Y

By referring to Fig. 2, it will be more clearly understood as to what action the lubricant takes upon entering the inlet i9. The escaping fluid or gas in the inlet I9 having an upward movement toward the seat 5 forces the lubricant 29 into the crevice formed by the angularity of the disc closure member 5. The lubricant being of heavier viscosity than the escaping fluid in the vessel, serves as a barrier or dam in preventing the further escape of the fluid or gas past the bearing surface between the disc 5 and the seat 6 as illustrated.

There may be instances in which there must be provision for holding the grease within the port I9 so as to keep it from travelling down the walls of the inlet and thence into the pressure Vessel. Therefore, in communication with the port 22 as shown in Fig. 3 it has sometimes been found desirable to provide an annular groove 3l which satisfactorily contains the lubricant, and prevents itsrunning down the walls of the inlet port and at the same time keeps it in reserve for use in the event that leakage at the seat develops.

It is obvious that, depending upon the size of the valve, it may be desirable to project the grease into the inlet from a number of angles thus requiring, for example, two or three lubricator connections instead of the single one illustrated. It should also be apparent that the method or means of providing a lubricant sealing means using pressure for obtaining tightness is capable of many varied modifications, and I therefore desire to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

. I claim:

l. In a valve comprising a casing, an inlet passage in said casing, a valve seat at the upper end of said passage, a substantially lateral port extending through the wall of the said casing and opening into the said passage in proximity to the said valve seat, a vvalve closure member to normally engage said seat, a. seal in said passage at the juncture of the said closure member and the wall of the said passage, means positioned exteriorly of the said casing for conducting a sealing medium through said port and into the said passage, the said sealing medium being forced into contact with the said closure member and the wall of the said passage to form the said seal by the pressure of a fluid in said inlet passage.

2. In a valve comprising a casing, an inlet passage in the said casing, a valve seat at the upper end of the said passage, a substantially lateral port extending through the. wall of the said casing and opening into the said passage adjacent the said valve seat, a valve closure member to normally engage said seat, a seal in said passage at the juncture of the said closure member and the wall of the said passage, means positioned exteriorlyl of the said casing for conducting a sealing medium through the said port and into the said passage, an annular groove surrounding the passage and in communication with the lateral port for receiving the sealing medium, the said sealing medium being forced into contact with the said closure member and the wall of the said passage to form the said seal by the pressure of a iluid in the said inlet passage.

ALFRED K. SORENSEN.

CII 

